2018 midterm election had high early voter turnout for Otero County

Otero County residents were able to vote early in one of five locations around the county, such as the Otero County Administration Building, as shown here in this Daily News file photo.(Photo: Nicole Maxwell/Alamogordo Daily News)Buy Photo

Monique Maynez and Adam Baca work to set up polling stations for the 2018 midterm elections at the Tays Center. Workers began setting up equipment for voting on Nov. 6 began as soon as early voting ended on Nov. 3. Dylan Taylor-Lehman/Daily News

Statewide, New Mexico had 1,261,532 people registered to vote in the 2018 midterm elections. Some Alamogordo voters cast their ballots at the Otero County Fairgrounds on Nov. 6. Dylan Taylor-Lehman/Daily News

Everette Brown, left, and Mike Aguirre hand out ballots to Alamogordo residents. The 2018 election was Aguirre’s first as a volunteer while Brown has been volunteering as a poll worker since he moved to Alamogordo 11 years ago. “We’ve done 654 since 7 this morning,” Brown said. “At one point there was a line going out the door.” Dylan Taylor-Lehman/Daily News

In Otero County, 5,671 Republicans and 3,036 Democrats voted early, while Libertarians and other political parties brought in 54 and 1,364 early votes each.

Holmes attributed the high turnout to an especially contentious election. People wanted to make sure they voted early in case something came up that prevented them from going to the polls, she said.

“They wanted to make sure they weren’t rushed, and they wanted to avoid the long lines on Election Day,” Holmes said.

Over all, the early voting process went well, Holmes said.

“I can’t think of any hiccups off the top of my head,” she said. “All in all, it was a great turnout. It didn’t look like anybody had to wait too long in line. We had a sufficient amount of the ballot-on-demand systems, and I think it went pretty smooth.”

Otero County voters were able to cast their early ballots at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, the Otero County Fairgrounds, the Otero County Administration Building, and the Chaparral Community Center, and at a mobile voting station set up at the Cloudcroft Council Chambers.

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Otero County election officials expected a high voter turnout for Tuesday's election because of the high volume of early voter turnout for the 2018 midterm elections.(Photo: Dylan Taylor-Lehman/Daily News)

Comparisons to previous elections

According to figures provided by the New Mexico Secretary of State, New Mexico had 1,261,532 people registered to vote in the 2018 elections.

Figures show that 430,796 New Mexicans cast early ballots as of the end of early voting, while 1,595 cast absentee ballots.

The Secretary of State’s figures show that 146,637 Republicans and 223,122 Democrats voted early statewide in 2018, while independents, Libertarians, and other political parties respectively cast 56,306, 2,392, and 2,339 early ballots.

The number of New Mexicans who voted early in the 2018 election was substantially higher than those of the previous two elections.

The total number of absentee and in-person early voters in 2010 was 297,768 out of 607,700 total voters, while 250,708 New Mexican voters voted early or absentee in 2014, according to the Secretary of State.

“Early voting around the country this year has produced record-breaking results and New Mexico is no exception,” New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver stated in a press release. “A healthy democracy requires healthy voter participation and with over 430,000 New Mexicans having already voted this year, it’s clear that our democracy is alive and well.”

The work continues

Holmes said the Otero County Clerk’s office finished up with early voting Saturday then turnaround on Monday morning to setup the county's polling location for Tuesday's midterm election, she said.

“We have to do this work whether we have 10 percent voter turnout or 100 percent,” Holmes said. “We have to hire basically the same amount of people. It’s just wonderful when we have a larger turnout – it makes it seem so much more worth it.”

The office’s staff started getting polling places prepared at 5 a.m. on Tuesday to be ready when the doors opened, Holmes said.

“We breathe a sigh of relief once everybody is at their poll location, all of the poll workers have showed up, and the machines are up and running and ready to go,” she said. “And then the phones start ringing.”

Holmes expressed gratitude to her staff for the work they’ve put in. They were in for a long day on Election Day – typical Election Day hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., she said.

“In my office I’ve got such a great staff. They’re experienced and are getting more experience," Holmes said. "They’re hard workers dedicated to putting in way over 100 hours over the past couple of weeks. They’ve done an awesome job.”

To watch the returns in real-time, go online to the Secretary of State’s website at sos.state.nm.us